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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 4 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 1077 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

My portfolio, like others, has to bear its share. However, even in the tough economic times that we are facing, even with the operating loss, even dealing with the problems that are left over from Labor's heritage, we are able to maintain levels of funding to health and community care as evidence of our contribution to a healthy, safe, diverse and contributing community, and as evidence of this Government's caring approach.

We have met our commitment to the Commonwealth under the new Australian health care agreement to maintain the ACT's own source funding to the health and hospital system. In fact, expenditure for 1998-99 will exceed expenditure in 1997-98, although there are a number of ins and outs, and this is one of the difficulties in dealing with a budget. As Ms Tucker says, "Why cannot we have a budget one year that you can compare with the previous year's?". The reason is that there will always be movement of moneys in and out. What we have done is explain where those movements have occurred. Budgets are not such simple things that you are ever going to be able to look and say, "Yes, we spent this last year. We spent that there. There are the figures. It is as simple as that". These are complicated issues and they have to be dealt with in a complicated way. For all that, the Government, as it has done previously, has provided a very clear-cut, understandable way of reading the budget in Budget Paper No. 2, to ensure that people who want just to get an overview are able to do that. If you want to go beyond the overview you have to be prepared to do a bit of the hack work.

In Health, we have to change the way we do things. We have to put greater focus on primary health care and ways to keep people healthy and out of our hospitals, because no change will simply mean escalating costs each year with this ongoing cycle of the hospital system absorbing more and more public funds. It is simply not sustainable in terms of ensuring that we get a healthier and healthier society.

We are delivering on a range of spending commitments that the Liberal Party made during the election campaign. I have been prepared to join with them and assist them to meet those election commitments. Unfortunately, I must say at this point, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, one of the disappointing things for me - I did not expect that I would be in government and would be helping to prepare a budget - is that I did not make any election commitments that I would be spending money. I realise what a silly mistake that was now, because there are no promises to keep. However, I did say that I would tackle the operating loss. That is something that I am very proud to be associated with, because I believe that those opposite would never have been able to tackle the operating loss. Indeed, Mr Corbell today reinforced that to fund the extra million dollars for tourism, as far as he was concerned, he would have just increased the operating loss. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, that is simply not good management, as indicated by the quote I made from David Hughes earlier.

There has been an increase of $800,000 in funding for Home and Community Care Services to provide increased support and services for the frail aged, young people with disabilities and their carers, with a major focus on respite care and home support. There is $500,000 for the dental health program. I appreciate that Mr Wood and Ms Tucker recognised that and saw that as positive. There is $125,000 for an innovative asthma support service to screen children to reduce the effects of asthma among young Canberrans. This will assist in keeping people out of hospital and assist in ensuring that young people have treatment early enough, so that they will not get worse and worse.

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